• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

bees

Yellowjackets: A Primer

September 4, 2022 by Paul Hetzler 2 Comments

eastern yellowjacket courtesy Beatriz MoissetI’m not one to shed a tear when authoritarian rulers die, but once they’re gone, picnics become a lot more dangerous. As summer wanes, the original queen in every yellowjacket wasp colony dies – having a few thousand babies in the course of one season is enough to tire any Queen Mum to death. [Read more…] about Yellowjackets: A Primer

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: bees, insects, nature, Summer, Wildlife

Rethinking the Lawn: Cutting the Grass

September 4, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

grass courtesy Wikimedia user J.M.Garg This spring, we went the no-mow route on about a quarter-acre of our lawn, the last remaining groomed piece we hadn’t turned into vegetable garden or permanent meadow. What a relief! During the hottest, driest spells over the summer, the grass wasn’t growing anyway. The lawn we did mow during the drought – mostly pathways – turned unhappily brown. [Read more…] about Rethinking the Lawn: Cutting the Grass

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: bees, butterflies, drought, gardening, insects, nature, pollinators, Summer, Wildlife

Dire News In New York’s First-Ever Pollinator Distribution Survey

August 20, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

honey bee forager collecting pollen courtesy Jon SullivanNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a multi-year survey of hundreds of pollinator species in New York State.

It’s hoped the Empire State Native Pollinator Survey 2017-2021 will provide the foundation for future pollinator research and conservation efforts. [Read more…] about Dire News In New York’s First-Ever Pollinator Distribution Survey

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: agriculture, bees, DEC, insects, local farms, nature, pollinators, wildflowers, Wildlife

DEC’s Intent to Restrict Certain Neonicotinoid Pesticide Products

February 12, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

honeybee courtesy DECThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced plans to reclassify certain neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticide products as “Restricted Use” effective January 1st, 2023. [Read more…] about DEC’s Intent to Restrict Certain Neonicotinoid Pesticide Products

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: bees, birds, butterflies, DEC, gardening, insects, Landscape Architecture, nature, pollinators, pollution, Wildlife

Making Ink From Oak Galls: Some History & Science

November 13, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Developing Oak Marble gall caused by the insect Andricus kollari on Quercus robur Chapeltoun, North Ayrshire, Scotland by Wikimedia user Rosser1954What do the following items have in common: the Declaration of Independence, Da Vinci’s notebooks, Bach’s musical scores, Rembrandt’s drawings, Shakespeare’s plays, and the Magna Carta?

Give up?

These examples, along with countless other documents ranging from the historically important to the more mundane, were all recorded using iron gall ink, which is made – in part – from the protrusions created after oak gall wasps lay their eggs within oak trees. [Read more…] about Making Ink From Oak Galls: Some History & Science

Filed Under: Arts, History, Nature Tagged With: bees, insects, Material Culture, oaks, Printing, Science History, trees, wasps

Bee Anarchy Is Bad for Picnics

September 3, 2021 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

George-Cruikshanks-Pic-Nic-disturbed-by-a-Swarm-of-Bees-1826I’m not one to shed a tear when authoritarian rulers die, but once they’re gone, picnics become a lot more dangerous. Toward the end of summer, just in time for Labor Day picnics and County Fairs, the original queen in every yellowjacket wasp colony dies.

It’s not the stuff of Hamlet or some far-reaching conspiracy, it’s just that having a few thousand babies in the course of one season is enough to tire any Queen Mum to death. [Read more…] about Bee Anarchy Is Bad for Picnics

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: bees, insects, nature, Wildlife

Honey Bee Keepers, Curb Your Enthusiasm

August 12, 2021 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

honey bee forager collecting pollen courtesy Jon SullivanWith their marvelous interpretive-dance routines, complex social life, and delicious honey, honeybees are widely respected, but they’re anything but sweet to wild pollinators. In fact, a surfeit of honeybees is a big threat to our native bees and butterflies. [Read more…] about Honey Bee Keepers, Curb Your Enthusiasm

Filed Under: Food, Nature Tagged With: bees, butterflies, gardening, hummingbirds, insects, local farms, nature, pollinators, wildflowers, Wildlife

Digger Wasps: Diverse and Showy Insects

August 7, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Digger WaspsLast summer while working in the garden, I was startled when a fast-flying wasp dropped a plump pumpkin spider on the soil in front of me. The wasp landed, grabbed the spider, and wiggled backwards into a small hole I hadn’t noticed, quickly covering the entrance as if to say, “nothing to see here.” It was the first time I’d seen a digger wasp provisioning an underground nest. [Read more…] about Digger Wasps: Diverse and Showy Insects

Filed Under: History, Nature Tagged With: bees, insects, nature, pollinators, wasps, Wildlife

Flower Color: A Science Primer

July 18, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_FlowerColor_ButtercupTo quote the French dramatist Jean Giradoux, “The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.” Flowering plants fill our summer fields and gardens, bring bright spots of color to our woods, and – since their arrival on the scene some 130 million years ago – have evolved along with animal life to become an essential part of the food web. [Read more…] about Flower Color: A Science Primer

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: bees, Native Plants, nature, pollinators, wildflowers, Wildlife

New York Insects: Paper Wasps

June 5, 2021 by Tom Kalinowski 1 Comment

young paper wasp queen courtesy Wikimedia user AlvesgasparWhile working around the home this summer, it is not unusual to notice the papery nest of a wasp tucked under the eaves, hidden behind a loose shutter, or placed in some other protected spot. While an encounter with this type of structure may temporarily disrupt a painting project or repair work, such a sanctuary is vital to the summer success of these familiar yellow and black insects, and should be left alone if at all possible as wasps play a role in helping to control the populations of numerous insects, spiders and other bugs. [Read more…] about New York Insects: Paper Wasps

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: bees, insects, nature, pollinators, wasps, Wildlife

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Help Finish Our 2022 Fundraising

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Edythe Ann Quinn on Poetry: Stairway from Heaven
  • Ellen Brown on How Does A Land Trust Protect A Watershed? One Parcel At A Time
  • Nell Rapport on Transforming The Niagara Falls Experience
  • Jimmy on World War II POW Camps in Upstate New York
  • Paul Huey on Advocates: Pass The Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act
  • NOEL A SHERRY on Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations
  • NOEL A SHERRY on Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations
  • Jim Fox on Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations
  • Big Burly on Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations
  • MATTHEW J BURDEN on When Did New York Stop Speaking Dutch?

Recent New York Books

battle of harlem hights
Ladies Day at the Capitol
voices of wayne county
CNY Snowstorm book front cover
The Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era
Expanded Second Edition of Echoes in These Mountains
historic kingston book
Buffalo Sports cover re-re-sized.indd
With an Ax and a Rifle Vol I

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide